


How do you get away with it?

by joyce



Category: Parasol Protectorate - Gail Carriger
Genre: Conversations, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-21
Updated: 2012-12-21
Packaged: 2017-11-21 22:07:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/602587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joyce/pseuds/joyce
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just Lyall and Madame Lefoux talking a bit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	How do you get away with it?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sorcyress](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sorcyress/gifts).



“How do you get away with it?”

“With what?” Madame Lefoux fussed with her cuffs, arched her eyebrows, and looked back at Professor Lyall.

“You know what I’m asking.” Professor Lyall arched his eyebrows in return and sipped from his tea cup. 

They both turned to watch Alexia fussing at Lord Maccon about something, and both smiled fondly at their respective alphas. For all that Alexia wasn’t a werewolf, she was still an alpha.

Madame Lefoux didn’t look back at Lyall, and breathed something that might have been a sigh on someone who was less well put together. “I keep company with vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and Alexia – dressing like a man is the least of my sins.” Lyall barked a laugh as Madame Lefoux continued. “If I kept more conventional company or if I didn’t work… but there’s a point at which one is so thoroughly unconventional and so far removed from conventional society, that it doesn’t so much matter anymore. I’m just Madame Lefoux, not Madame Lefoux that dresses like a man and invents crazy things. I reached a point where I just started doing as I liked, and found people to surround myself with who didn’t care.”

Lyall considered that and then seemed to relax minutely. However, when Madame Lefoux asked “And how do you get away with it?” he stood ramrod straight.

“With what?” he inquired, but Madame Lefoux just glared at him sideways.

Lyall considered his word carefully (as he always did) and finally said “When one lives more or less forever – especially as a beta – and one is never going to have children, with a certain amount of discretion one can, as you’ve noted, do as one will.” He paused again. “It’s far easier, as a beta. There’s more expectations, for alphas. Not that ours seem to care…” Lyall trailed off, and that seemed to be that. Conversation done, Lyall and Lefoux resumed drinking tea and watching the scene in front of them.


End file.
